Spatial distribution and local integration of migrants in Ireland

Daniel Capistrano, Evan Carron-Kee, Lúcás Rohan et al.

October 2025

Intro

Objectives

• Geographical distribution of migrants in Ireland

• Characteristics of the communities where migrants live

• Residential segregation across neighbourhoods

• Factors associated with residential segregation

Context

Literature - Spatial distribution and integration

• Integration as a spatialised process (Gilmartin and Dagg 2021);

• Different paths to integration depending on origin (Heath and Schneider 2021)

• Housing as marker and mean of integration (Ager and Strang 2008) and space for bridges, links and bonds;

Literature - Correlates of spatial integration (attitudes)

• Contact (Pettigrew and Tropp 2006) and extended contact (Zhou et al. 2019) reduce prejudice;
  
• Local migrant-share association with attitudes in rural Ireland (Laurence, McGinnity, and Murphy 2025);
  
• Segregation mediates the relationship between migrant-share and attitudes in the UK (Borkowska and Laurence 2025)

Literature - Correlates of spatial integration (housing)

• High concentration in areas with high share of privately rented accommodation (Fahey et al. 2019)

• Housing tenure, affordability and availability (McGinnity et al. 2024; Lima 2025)

Previous report

• Small decrease in foreign-born segregation between 2011 and 2016.

• “We might expect greater residential clustering among more tightly defined groups that share linguistic or cultural characteristics.”

Structure

• Chapter 1: Literature review
  
• Chapter 2: Geographical distribution and segregation
  
• Chapter 3: Characteristics of local communities
  
• Chapter 4: Policy context and implications

Methods

Data sources

• CSO SAPS 2016 and 2022;
  
• Small Area frequencies by country of birth
  
• IPAS centres occupancy 2021-2025
  
• Auxiliary data (e.g. HSE Service Dir., School register, Garda stations)
  
• Semi-structured interviews and focus group

Data analysis

1. LEA-level visualisations
   
2. Descriptive analyses of size and change by CoB
   
3. Indices: Dissimilarity, Isolation, and Diversity
   
4. Regression Analyses of 3 and 4
   
5. Thematic analysis of qualitative data

Results

C2: Proportion of foreign-born

C2: Eurostat 1km grid

C2: CSO Small Areas

Dissimilarity Index

Initial conclusions

• Segregation.

• Data

• Policy

Next steps

Ager, Alastair, and Alison Strang. 2008. “Understanding Integration: A Conceptual Framework,” June. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/fen016.

Borkowska, Magda, and James Laurence. 2025. “The Role of Ethnic Diversity and Residential Segregation in Shaping Anti-Immigrant Sentiment and Support for Brexit.” Political Studies 73 (2): 457–83. https://doi.org/10.1177/00323217241261748.

Fahey, Éamonn, Helen Russell, Frances McGinnity, Raffaele Grotti, and ESRI. 2019. “Diverse Neighbourhoods: An Analysis of the Residential Distribution of Immigrants in Ireland.” ESRI. https://doi.org/10.26504/bkmnext376.

Gilmartin, Mary, and Jennifer Dagg. 2021. “Spatializing Immigrant Integration Outcomes.” Population, Space and Place 27 (2): e2390. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.2390.

Heath, Anthony F., and Silke L. Schneider. 2021. “Dimensions of Migrant Integration in Western Europe.” Frontiers in Sociology 6 (April): 510987. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2021.510987.

Laurence, James, Frances McGinnity, and Keire Murphy. 2025. “Community-Level Drivers of Attitudes Towards Immigration in Ireland.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 51 (11): 2891–2918. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2025.2487198.

Lima, Valesca. 2025. “Housing Challenges and Needs of Migrants in Ireland.” Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.14905504.

McGinnity, Frances, Evan Carron-Kee, Anousheh Alamir, Ciára Dalton, Merike Darmody, Garance Hingre, Keire Murphy, and Emma Quinn. 2024. “Monitoring Report on Integration 2024.” ESRI. https://doi.org/10.26504/jr11.

Pettigrew, Thomas F., and Linda R. Tropp. 2006. “A Meta-Analytic Test of Intergroup Contact Theory.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 90 (5): 751–83. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.90.5.751.

Zhou, Shelly, Elizabeth Page-Gould, Arthur Aron, Anne Moyer, and Miles Hewstone. 2019. “The Extended Contact Hypothesis: A Meta-Analysis on 20 Years of Research.” Personality and Social Psychology Review 23 (2): 132–60. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868318762647.